Camilla Brencio

I am currently working as a PhD candidate in the group of Sustainable Process Engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology. My project, in the framework of a European Research project (BIZEOLCAT), is devoted to the implementation and optimization of new procedures to obtain light olefins using light hydrocarbons. My role is mainly focused on the optimization of the direct dehydrogenation processes to obtain propylene/butadiene, starting from propane/n-butane. The strategy proposed to improve those direct dehydrogenation processes consists in the use of the membrane reactor technology for hydrogen separation and production. The development of the proposed project required the combination of different key points. Studies on different Pd-based membrane configurations and their interaction with the dehydrogenation catalyst provided good information for the understanding of the process. The experimental results obtained with these membranes were subsequently used for the design of the novel reactor, which as been integrated in an overall propylene/butadiene production plant layout designed using Aspen Plus. Thermodynamic analysis has been performed and variables of interest have been used to perform a detailed techno-economic analysis, to assess the feasibility of the novel dehydrogenation process, supported by membrane reactors, as compared to the benchmark technology.